A few weeks ago, I was invited to try Pins & Bricks at the second floor of Pearl Plaza along Pearl Drive at the Ortigas Center. It’s a new place serving fresh, hand-made pizzas where you can also spend some bonding time with friends over games like Jenga, Scrabble, etc…
The place is named Pins & Bricks for the bricks that decorate the restaurant, and pins for the rolling pins they use. They have many board games available that you can play! Instead of getting bored waiting for the rest of your party to arrive, you can enjoy passing the time playing games. We played a competitive, stressful game of Jenga!
THE RESTAURANT
Pins & Bricks is a nice, cozy restaurant, that’s also quite hip. Ambience is smart casual – you’ll feel at ease playing board games and eating pizza. It feels like a neighborhood hangout, especially towards the evening when many of the students from the nearby schools come to Pins & Bricks to study, compare notes and hang out.
Despite being casual, the decor is well done. Check out this wall of pictures! They take Instax pictures of their customers and post it on this wall. Worried about getting your hands dirty while eating pizza or playing games? They have a sink available for you to use. I think using that beer bucket as a sink is inspired!
THE FOOD
The prices of the food at Pins & Bricks are pocket-friendly. They have rice meals for P99! And those giant pizzas can easily be shared by 10 or more people (tummy-wise and pocket-wise)!
As for their pizzas, they serve 5 sizes of pizza!
- Single – 8 inches
- Regular – 11 inches
- Family – 15 inches
- XL – 21 inches
- 2XL – 30 inches
Here are some pictures to show you how big the pizzas are!
On to pictures of the food!
For starters, they have Mojos (P89) and French Fries (P89):
They were just okay for me. Just fried with some cheese on the batter for the mojos.
These are their Beef & Mushroom Rice Meal (P99) and Pork Chop Rice Meal (P99):
They are okay. I actually enjoyed the pork chop. For P99, I am not expecting something high-end, but it’s better food than you will get for P99 elsewhere. And for the pork chop, at least, it was fried to order! 
So I think it’s pretty good value, considering the nice surroundings, the cool aircon, and the games you can play.
For pasta, I really like their take on Aglio Olio (P175 for a regular order)! They added thin slices of green chilies, and the garlic bits are fried until golden brown, and it works! Here it is with a piece of fried chicken.
I’m a sucker for crispy, golden fried chicken wings so I enjoyed this.
Here’s their Chicken & Spaghetti Combo (P199, includes Iced Tea):
I also liked their Lasagna (P175):
Pins & Bricks’ pizzas are of the thin crust variety. For the pizzas, my favorite is their new Breakfast Pizza (new item). I just love this pizza! There’s bacon, and the eggs are soft and creamy, but cooked! The name Breakfast Pizza really describes this well. You don’t see this pizza flavor everyday and it’s worth trying if you love bacon & eggs like I do.
Here are their other Pizza flavors:
The bestseller and most recommended is the Meat Carousel Pizza. This one is loaded with ground beef, ham, bacon, mushrooms, onions and mozzarella.
For something different, try the Shawarma Pizza. The others in the group liked this pizza most. This Shawarma Pizza has mushrooms in it. Although not a big deal for me, I just think shawarmas generally don’t include mushrooms.
They also have a Savoury Tuna Pizza and Garlic & Cheese Pizza:
Here’s their Pizza Menu with descriptions of each pizza:
DRINKS
When at Pins & Bricks, you must make it a point to try their Yummy Coolers! They are creamy fruit shakes, and they’re really good. They are P99 each. The pictures just don’t do them justice. I’m partial to the mango and the strawberry, but others also liked the watermelon.
SUMMARY
Pins & Bricks serves freshly baked pizzas and creamy, delicious coolers. Their pizzas are not that complicated, but they are able to use a few ingredients and turn them into wonderfully good food worth your while! Simple food, but delectably good and served freshly-made!
Their prices are pocket-friendly, too, especially when sharing the tab as a group (get the big pizzas!).
It’s a good place to meet a group of friends for a group project, a small celebration, or a get-together.
Pins and Bricks Pizza Bistro
2nd Floor, 8101 Pearl Plaza, Pearl Drive, Ortigas Center
Contact #: 0906 318 8877
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pins-and-Bricks-Bistro/559135954223079
Instagram: http://instagram.com/pinsandbricks/
